Counter and stop mechanism for textile machinery



Jan. 1, 1952 w. H. KIMPTON 2.580552 COUNTER AND STOP MECHANISM FOR TEXTILE MACHINERY Filed Oct. 5, 1946 Patented Jan. 1, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE coon-ran m s'ror MECHANISM son 'rsxma MACHINERY corporation of Delaware Application October 3, 1948, Serial No. 700,986 In Great Britain October 8, 1945 (G1. 24MB) 4 Claims. I

This invention relates to textile machinery and specifically to automatic yarn-winding machinery for the winding of pirns, cops, spools and like packages (hereinafter referred to as pirns) in which, when a pirn or group of pirns is completed, an automatic dofling and donning mechanism operates to remove the completed pirns and replace them with empty pirn tubes on which winding proceeds. The invention is particularly concerned with the provision in such machines of a counter and stop mechanism adapted to stop the machine after a predetermined number of pirns has been wound.

U. S. Patent No. 2,173,160 of September 19. 1939, describes an automatic pirn-winding machine provided with a. mechanism of this character, the counter being operated step by step on the completion of each group of simultaneously wound pirns by a part of the mechanism employed in the doiling and donning operation. The doiiing and donning operation is initiated by freeing a spring-loaded clutch member and the counter and stop mechanism acts, after a predetermined number of pirns has been wound, by releasing the sprin loading of said member and thus preventing further dofiing, donning or winding. In this way the machine can readily be arranged to stop, without attention, before the exhaustion of the supply of yarn available to the machine or of the supply of empty pim tubes. It is an object of the present invention to provide a counter and stop mechanism that is simpler in construction, more certain in operation and in other respects superior to that previously employed.

According to the present invention an automatic yarn-winding machine comprises a counter and stop mechanism adapted to be operated step by step by a member of the machine that moves to initiate a doiiing and donning operation of the machine, said mechanism being adapted, after a predetermined number of such steps, to act on said member so as to prevent further movement thereof. It is preferable that the member operating the mechanism should not be positively actuated, but should be operated, for example, through a spring or by gravity, the counter and stop mechanism being adapted merely to bring astop into the path of its movement whereby such movement is prevented, without the necessity of disconnecting the member from the part of the machine which operates it. The counter and stop mechanism in this form, i. e. comprising a stop member adapted to block the movement of the member operating the 2 counter, may be regarded as a separate attachment applicable in any appropriate manner to an existing automatic yarn-winding machine.

The counter and stop mechanism according to the invention may be applied to the machine described in U. 8. Patent No. 2,173,160, of September 19, 1939, referred to above, and to other automatic pim-winding machines in which do!- ting and donning can be prevented by preventing the movement'of a member which initiates the domng and donning operation. For example the mechanism may be applied in the automatic pim-winding machine described in U. 8. Patent No. 2,306,268 of December 22, 1942, or in that described in U. S. application 8. No. 700.985, filed October 3, 1946. Where a machine does not comprise a negatively actuated member in the mechanism for initiating the doillng and donning operation, it may be desirable to adapt the machine for this purpose, for example by the insertion of a spring connection in place of a solid connection in the chain of mechanism by which dofling and donning is started.

By way of example one form of counter and stop attachment applicable specifically to the automatic pim-winding machines described in U. S. Patent No. 2,306,268 of December 22, 1942, and in U. S. application 8. No. 700,985, filed October 3, 1946, will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is an end view showing the clutch means for driving the domng and donning mechanism.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the counting mechanism.

The machine is one in which doiling and donning is brought about by the rotation, through a single revolution, of a cam shaft \l carrying a series of cams (not shown) adapted to bring about the various operations necessary for dofllng and donning. The cam shaft I is driven through a single revolution from a constantly rotating clutch member 2. The clutch member 2 is in the form of a disc, freely mounted on the cam shaft I and arranged face to face with a large disc 3 secured to the cam shaft. The disc 2 has four semicircular notches round its periphery, while the disc 3 carries a pair of spring-loaded levers 5, 6 mounted on axes parallel to the cam shaft I. The lever 5 lies approximately tangential as ofthe edge or the disc 2 and the notches 4 as the 3 disc rotates. The second lever B is approximately radial to the cam shaft I and its free end 3 is bent through a right angle so as to engage the outer surface 9 of the lever 5, the said outer surface 9 being sloped in the form of a ramp so that movement of the lever 6, under the action of its spring I9, drives the lever 5 inwards. The lever B is held against the action of its spring I and out of engagement of the lever by means of a catch lever II mounted on a spindle I2 parallel to the cam shaft I. The spindle I2 tends to rotate counter-clockwise, by gravity or by springloading, but is prevented from doing so by the engagement of a lever I3 on the spindle I2 with the end of a lever I4 attached to the starting and stopping handle I5 of the machine. The bulk of the mechanism, above and below the baseplate I6 is omitted for the sake of clarity. but is described in detail in U. S. application S. No. 700,985, filed October 3. 1946.

On the completion of a pirn, the normal stopping mechanism of the pirn winding machine comes into action, as a result of which the handle I 5 is moved upwards to the stop position and this, through the lever I4 allows the spindle I2 to rotate and the catch lever II to rise, and so releases the lever Ii. The lever 6 acts on the back of the lever 5 so as to drive it inwards and to hold its shaped end I in engagement with the next notch 4 encountered in the edge of the driving disc 2. In this way the disc 2 draws the disc 3 carrying the two levers 5, 6 round with it, and rotates the cam shaft I through one revolution. At the end of one revolution the lever 6 encounters the catch lever II, which by this time has returned to its original position, and releases the lever 5 so as to stop the driving of the cam shaft I.

The counter and stop attachment of the present invention is arranged to be operated from lever I8 fixed to the spindle I2 carrying the catch lever II. The attachment comprises a circular casing I9 secured to the frame of the machine 20 and containing. on a central spindle 2 I a numbered disc 22 (largely broken away in Fig. 2) fitting inside the casing I9. To the disc 22 is secured a ratchet wheel '23 having a number of teeth at least as great as the greatest number of pirns desired to be wound, the numbers on the edge of the disc corresponding in angular position to the teeth of the ratchet wheel 23. The numbers are arranged to show through an aperture 24 in the face of the casing I9, so displaying the number of pirns already wound. The central spindle carries a radial lever 25 on which is mounted a pawl 26 adapted to engage the ratchet wheel 23. A second or stop pawl 21 is pivoted to the body of the casing I9. The movement of the lever 25 is limited by a stop 28 fixed to, and projecting forward from, the back of the casing I9 adapted to engage with the tail 29 of the pawl 26 and raise the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet wheel 23 for a purpose described hereafter.

The lever I8 extends through a slot in the side of the casing I9 and engages with the lever 25 on the central spindle 2|. When the lever I8 moves, it allows thelever 25 to fall, the pawl 26 riding over one tooth of the ratchet wheel 23 which is held by the stop pawl 21. On completion of the dofiing and donning operation the lever I8 is raised, thus raising the lever 25 and the pawl 26 and rotating the ratchet wheel 23 against the action of a spring 32 through a distance of one tooth. The spring 32 is secured at 4 its inner end to a boss 33 of the ratchet wheel 23 on which the disc 22 is mounted, and at its outer end to the stop pin 28. Round the'edge of the numbered disc 22 and close to each of the numhers is a perforation 39, into one of which. corresponding to the number of pirns to be wound (the number 10 in the device as shown) is inserted a stud 3|. In due time rotation of the disc 22 drives the stud 3| into engagement with the lever I3 and prevents it from moving. On the next movement of the starting and stopping lever I5 of the machine the spindle I2 does not rotate, being held by the pin 3I and lever I8. In this way the dofiing and donning mechanism is prevented from operating, and the machine remains idle until it receives attention.

In order to reset the counting attachment a button 35 projects from the bottom of the casing, the upper end of which engages with and releases the tail 36 of the stop pawl 21. This releases the ratchet wheel 23 and allows the wheel 23 and disc 22 to rotate backwards under theaction of the spring against which they are rotated in the course of counting. During the first part of the backward rotation, the lever 25 and pawl 26 also rotate, the lever l8 being also free to move since it is no longer restricted by the stud 3I in the disc 22. In due course the tail 29 of the pawl 26 engages the stop 28 and is released from "the ratchet wheel 23, which then, unimpeded by either pawl, rotates to a zero position determined by a back-stop (not shown) acting on the disc 22.

The central spindle 2I of the counting adjustment may be connected through a free wheel device to a counter of ordinary form which is thus adapted to indicate the total number of pirns wound on the machine.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an automatic pirn-winding machine comprising dofling and donning mechanism and a member adapted to be moved to initiate a cycle of action of said dofling and donning mechanism, an attachment comprising a counting device adapted to operate step by step by the motions of a part separate from the counting device and attached to said member, a spring. a stop adapted to be brought, after a predetermined number of said steps. against the action of said spring into the path of said part so as to prevent further motions of said part and said member, and release mechanism for said stop permitting resetting thereof to a zero position under the action of said spring.

2. In an automatic pirn-winding machine comprising dofling and donning mechanism and a member adapted to be moved to initiate a cycle of action of said doffing and donning mechanism. an attachment comprising a counting device including a ratchet wheel, a lever adapted to be engaged and rocked by the motions of a part separate from said counting device and attached to said member, a pawl on said lever adapted to actuate said ratchet wheel step by step, and a stop fixed to said ratchet wheel and adapted to be brought, after a predetermined number of such steps, into the path of said part so as to prevent further motions of said part and said member.

3. In an automatic pirn-winding machine comprising dofling and donning mechanism and a member adapted to be moved to initiate a cycle of action of said dofiing and donning mechanism, an attachment comprising a ratchet wheel, a numbered disc carried by said ratchet wheel and having a recess corresponding to each number thereon, a lever adapted to be engaged and rocked by a part attached to said member, a .pawl on said lever adapted to actuate said ratchet wheel step by step, and a stop pin adapted to be received and carried in any of said recesses and to be brought, after a predetermined number of such steps, into the path of said part so as to prevent further motions of said part and said member.

4. In an automatic pirn-winding machine comprising dofling and donning mechanism and a member adapted to be moved to initiate a cycle of action of said dofling and donning mechanism; an attachment comprising a spring, a ratchet wheel, a numbered disc carried by said ratchet wheel and having a recess corresponding to each number thereon, a lever adapted to be engaged and rocket by a part attached to said member, a pawl on said lever adapted to actuate said ratchet wheel step by step against the action of said spring, a stop pin adapted to be received and carried in any of said recesses and to be brought, after a predetermined number of such steps, into the path 01' said part so as to prevent further motions of said part and said memher, and release mechanism for said stop pin permitting re-setting of the ratchet wheel to a zero position under the action of said spring.

WILLIAM HARRY KIMPTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

